Intro:
David Horowitz: Author, Former 1960s Radical Turned Rightwing Bully
Quoted in From "Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks is a Bad Idea for Blacks—and Racist Too," by David Horowitz, FrontPageMagazine.com, Jan. 3, 2001:
“What about the debt blacks owe to America—to white America—for liberating them from slavery? This may not seem like a serious question to some, but that only reveals their ignorance of the history of slavery and its fate.”
Conservative, My Ass...These People Are Nazis!
The showdown:
David Horowitz, right-wing bully and Bush Regime operative, made an appearance at a film festival in West Hollywood to introduce a film and to speak about his "Academic Bill of Rights." A group of World Can't Wait! organizers from here in LA went determined to disrupt and shut this fascist down. We approached this with the orientation that this was analogous to a KKK grand wizard coming to town to speak in the lynching belt of the US south, and that this monster must not be allowed to speak. We had to make sure his unwelcome was known.
Two of us were able to walk into the theater free of charge, by pure chance. We sat right up front and had to endure about 20 minutes of the most nauseating commentary, film trailers and award-giving for virulently reactionary, despicable films such as one that honored that great enemy of humanity, Reagan (it opened with a mushroom cloud, literally!). One of the vile dogs sitting next to us kept leering at us and feverishly clapping, noticing that we weren't showing any love. I was worried this storm-trooper might try to thwart our actions.
Finally, Horowitz stepped on stage. He began by talking about the success his "Academic Bill of Rights" campaign is having across the country, including by passing legislation and attacking progressive professors. We jumped up out of our seats and onto the stage and shouted that we were there to put a stop to all that. We declared that "Fascists have no right to speak! Horowitz and the whole Bush Regime must be Driven Out! Horowitz is a bigot who wants to end ethnic studies and all critical thought on the campuses!"
We stood our ground as long as we could until we were assaulted by some of the henchmen in the audience. They literally threw me off the stage and tackled me to the ground and into the first row of seats. My companion received the same treatment. We continued agitating and they strong-armed us out of the theater and shut the doors, dragging us into the lobby and guarding the door as security came up. The reactionary watch-dog sitting next to us followed behind the brawl shouting, "I knew those two were dangerous!" We replied that the real danger was the NAZI RALLY going on in that theater.
In the lobby, security pleaded with us to leave and said the pigs were on the way. We told them they should be kicking out the fascists occupying the theater! As people continued to come into the theater (having to be re-routed since we were agitating in the front) we advised people to work on their goose-step and put up their Nazi salute for Horowitz and the Bush Regime. All too appropriately, one Horowitz fan responded to this by giving us the US military salute!
We were definitely outnumbered and, with no prospect of media coverage or mass participation, decided to leave the building before the sherriffs arrived. We had managed to disrupt and denounce Horowitz-- and put him on notice that he and his whole brownshirt movement will be resisted and defeated as a decisive part of ushering in the END OF THE BUSH REGIME and everything they represent. Because, truly, the WORLD CAN'T WAIT!
Tony
World Can't Wait! LA Youth & Student Organizer
(213) 804-9670 |
wcwlays@yahoo.com worldcantwait.org
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Disruption Causes a Stir in Fascist Blogosphere
** Last night, my new short film Brainwashing 201: The Second Semester was shown at the Liberty Film Festival in LA. The film was introduced by academic freedom fighter David Horowitz, whose speech was interrupted by two protesters who ran on stage screaming, "Fascists have no right to speak." The irony of that statement from the people trying to shut Horowitz up seemed to be lost on the protesters, but it served as a perfect illustration of the intellectual thuggery covered in the film that followed. The protesters were quickly whisked off stage and out of the theater in a fashion that was far more gentle than they deserved.
**Liberty Film Festival, 2:Friday night really had three stars: Even Coyne Maloney, the genius behind Brain Terminal and On the Fence Films; David Horowitz, the force of nature who started Front Page Magazine and the Study for Popular Culture; and Horowitz's hecklers, who stormed the stage the moment he began speaking, and had to be forcibly removed from the stage—and then the room.
Where, BTW, did Jason Apuzzo learn to tackle like that? These hecklers—one man and one woman—were enormous, like two big slabs of left-wing beef. And Horowitz is a small man; I'm glad Apuzzo and a few other volunteers from the audience (law enforcement? barflies?) kept them from getting near Horowitz as they continued to shout "you have no right to speak!"
I guess they aren't too happy with Horowitz' stance on the Bill of Academic Rights. Once we all knew these left-droids were being taken care of, most of us simply started laughing at them. Maloney started changing "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye" as the hecklers were "escorted" (forced, kicking and screaming) out of the room.
***As David Horowitz began to introduce Maloney's film, two audience members rushed onto the stage and ran towards him threateningly, shouting, "You have no right to speak!" They were quickly surrounded and escorted out of the hall. An audience member was heard to ask, "Who were they?" Quipped Horowitz, "They're called Communists."
When Maloney took the stage, he commented, "David was up here exercising his right to free speech, and they literally said, 'You have no right to speak.' .... That's not uncommon on college campuses."